The Master is Calling! : One Transfer Already??

Hello my beloved friends and family,

I have already been out 1 transfer. Feels like no time at all! It's
not fair that when you're feeling joy, time feels like it goes by
faster!

What an eventful week. There is always too much to tell! We went to
Osage again to go tracting! How I love tracting! I love the random
conversations we have with people on their doorstep. It is such a joy
to see how much you can learn about each person in such a short amount
of time. This week we tracted into someone who was interested at the
first door. This was kind of a shock because it usually feels like
it's e last door you knock on that has the interested party. It was
obvious that it wasn't a good time but she seemed interested. We said
we'd come back soon. Two houses later, we ran into another person that
was interested! Two on one street?? Impossible. Never happens. We were
just walking on air. His name was Bill Barker and he said any other
day at this time would've worked better. He seemed sad that he didn't
have time and we can't wait to get back there. Two houses later,
another interested party!! At this point we were about to faint. The
man invited us in and was extremely friendly. We were stumbling around
in our own confusion at this point and weren't completely sure how to
react. When we asked if we could share a message with him, he looked
at us, confused, for a minute and then said, "oh we're members, we're
just less-active." Now it all made sense. We talked for a while and
got to know him a little better. We haven't met the rest of the family
yet but we can't wait! What a miracle street.

That night we taught Trent, our most recently baptized member. Trent
is the coolest young man, we love him. We taught him at a member home,
the Checketts, and it was such a powerful lesson. It was cool to have
that whole family of members there and to hear their testimonies. Even
the Children were participating and bearing their testimonies! At the
end Trent bore his testimony on the Plan of Salvation and Joseph
Smith. He has such a simple, strong testimony and it is beautiful to
hear.

Other news of the week, we decided to ride bikes this week. Why?
Because it was cold, so obviously the perfect time. We road down to
the church at about 4:00. It was pretty nice because the sun was still
out and everything was pretty warm. Because we are brilliant, we just
wore sweaters because it was pretty warm. Everything was going well
until I saw a bunny... The little boy in me said, "chase it!" So,
because guys just need to chase the local wildlife sometimes, I did.
But what was my surprise when I got a flat tire riding over these
sharp rocks while chasing this bunny?? Well this was perfect! A lovely
bike ride down to the church, followed by a leisurely stroll back!
And, we had a dinner appointment to make! We did our stuff at the
church and left around 4:45 to walk home. It was super cold at this
point and our hands were numb, but we learned our lesson, don't chase
bunnies on bikes! In all honesty, it was really fun, even though our
hands and faces were frozen.

Random news of the week: Our district is pretty dang awesome, but with
transfers coming, this last week was our last District Meeting
together, so we had a photoshoot. I'm gonna miss these crazies. Also,
they shut me in a custodial closet during lunch, but instead of trying
to get out I thought it would be more fun to... Well it's hard to
explain. Haha. We finally had our first snow here! It was super wimpy.
That's ok with me though. :) probably one of the most exciting things
of the week, I got some herbal tea and tried it (it's best with a
little honey) and I love it! The most important part about it though
is to speak in a British accent while drinking it.

Sad news of the week: Transfers. My dear friends and family, my
beloved trainer is leaving me to go to Messoula Montana. I am going to
finish my training here in Newcastle. We are going to miss him
terribly here in Newcastle but we know he's on the Lord's errand! I'm
excited for him. My new companion is Elder Bird and he sounds like
such a cool guy! I'm excited to meet him!

Now the big news... Last night we met with a referral, her name is
Ashton. Last night we taught her the restoration. It was such a good
lesson! The spirit was so strong and it was so much fun to feel the
spirit speak through me. I love teaching! Elder Hatton and I have
become a pretty good team. While I was telling Joseph's account of the
first vision, the spirit was so strong in the room, I felt a very
strong impression to commit Ashton to baptism. She has accepted
January 2nd as her goal for a baptism and we'll be meeting with her
next week!! We had her friend Alex there last night, who referred her
and who is about to go on a mission, and he proved to be vital to the
lesson. Members always do! We are so excited for Ashton and hope she
continues to work as hard as she is.

Wow, such a good week. I look forward to having an even better one
next week!! I love this gospel and the joy, peace and answers people
can receive from following the guidelines in it. I know that I'm on
the Lord's errand and that he is helping me every step of the way. I
know we have a prophet on the earth today, and I love him.

I love each of you very much.

Love,
Elder Thomas

THE DISTRICT: Wow I look so mad
I don't even know.